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A major step towards creating a single Sustainable Energy Strategy for the Mid-West took place recently when senior public sector personnel from the Region and beyond participated in a workshop at the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) campus in Thurles.
The event focusing on encouraging reductions in energy consumption and CO2 emissions and increased usage of renewable energy in public buildings was held as part of a three-year EU INTERREG IVC project which is being implemented locally by the Mid-West Regional Authority (MWRA)
The STEP project, short for 'Improving Communities' Sustainable Energy Policy Tools', will see the MWRA updating its existing Regional Biomass Strategy and the Regional Climate Change Strategy to combine them into one Sustainable Energy Strategy for the Region.
Public sector bodies represented at the workshop included the HSE, Tipperary Energy Agency, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Midlands Energy Agency, Institute of Technology Tralee, Irish Prison Service and local authorities from all over Ireland. Entitled 'Energy Management in Public Bodies: Strategic Solutions to Resourcing Energy Management', the event featured speakers on a range of topics including Purchasing Energy Services; Successful progress and effective ESCO's (Energy Supply Contract); and Financing Retrofit. The workshop concluded with a site visit to a Biomass Boiler at Thurles LIT.
Councillor Oliver Garry, Cathaoirleach of the MWRA, said the high level of participation in the workshop will help guide renewable energy development and good practice in the Mid-West.
He added: "Resourcing an energy management program is a key challenge in the public sector. This workshop focused on obligations of local authorities and provided strategic solutions to resourcing energy management through a series of presentations from other public sector organisations who have overcome this challenge. The support of the public sector is key to our objective of establishing a single Sustainable Energy Strategy for the Region."
(CD/JP)
